Construction on ambitious River District project in Charlotte could begin this year
Developers said they are close to beginning major construction at the River District, a development project aimed at transforming a largely vacant tract along the Catawba River into a mixed-used residential and commercial community.
During a Charlotte City Council meeting Monday, a project manager with Crescent Communities said the development firm plans to break ground this year.
The project will be partly funded by taxpayers, with the City Council committing to about $30 million of public investment since the project was first proposed in 2016. That has included $16.2 million in capital improvement bonds and $15 million through a through a tax increment grant subsidy — a payment based on expected future tax revenues.
The public investment has raised questions about how the project will prioritize affordable housing, and about renaming one of the major thoroughfares: Dixie River Road.
The River District is ambitious in scale. Developers pitch it as a community that will integrate the area’s natural beauty with the luxuries of development.
Plenty of green space will be incorporated across the 1,400-acre area along with nearly 20 miles of bike and pedestrian trails. Restaurants, office spaces, apartment buildings and homes will be built through the development.
“I think one of the common threads of great cities around the world is a really active waterfront,” Councilman Larken Egleston said Monday. “Charlotte’s not historically had that, and I’m hoping this can be that.”
Dixie River Road
On Monday, Egleston also said he hoped the city could rename Dixie River Road, one of the main thoroughfares in the River District area.
“To me, Dixie River Road sounds like the entrance to a ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ theme park, not to something like this,” he said, referring to the early ’80s TV show set in rural Georgia. “To me it’s not a name worthy of a project like this.”
Egleston said changing the name has been brought up during previous discussions, adding that it might be easier to change the name before the project approaches completion.
Councilwoman Victoria Watlington also said she would support changing the road’s name.
Mayor Vi Lyles asked to push the discussion to a later date, saying it was unclear who would take on that responsibility.
Housing at the River District
Several council members asked how the project will prioritize affordable housing.
Chase Kerley, a managing director at Crescent, said the development company had agreed to make 10% of housing at the River District affordable — though what’s considered “affordable” was not clearly defined at Monday’s meeting.
Kerley said Crescent has agreed to donate some land to Laurel Street, an affordable housing developer, to build 124 affordable apartments. More affordable options will be developed as the project moves forward, he said.
The River District is expected to hold 5,000 residential units in total, with 2,500 single-family homes and 2,500 multifamily units, like apartments and condos. Residents should be able to move in during the spring of 2023, Kerley said.
Construction along an extension of West Boulevard is expected to begin this year. Developers will follow up with water and sewer infrastructure, as well as housing and office spaces.
Developers have promised big results. In a report released in 2017, they said they expected the project to generate $2.7 billion of new taxable property and 51,000 new permanent jobs.
“We do not want to step forward tepidly,” Kerley said.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Construction on ambitious River District project in Charlotte could begin this year."
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